BUTANOL PRODUCTION FROM SUGARCANE JUICES

By M. KIM and D.F. DAY

Audubon Sugar Institute, LSU Agricultural Center, La. USA
dday@agcenter.lsu.edu

KEYWORDS: Butanol, Fermentation, Sugar Juices, Biomass.

Abstract

BUTANOLis an aliphatic saturated alcoholwith the molecular formula of C4H9OH, which can be used as a transportation fuel, an intermediate and a solvent for a wide variety of chemical applications. The acetone-butanol fermentation was the standard for industrial production of solvents until the 1950s. Modern microbiological techniques have improved the original organism such that it produces high levelsof butanol rather than mixed solvents. Butanol has many advantages as an alternative fuel source; 1) a higher energy content, 2) usable in existing pipelines, 3) easy to blend with gasoline. Butanol can be produced fromsugarcane juice, molasses or sugars from bagasse hydrolysates using a strain of Clostridium beijerinckii.Sugarcane juice and molasses
ferment directly to butanol. The yield ofbutanol was 0.30 g/g sugar from molasses and 0.34 g/g sugar from juice whereas equivalent sucrose concentrations produced 0.27g butanol per g sugar. Details of the economics for a viable production of butanol from sugarcane products are presented.


Source
http://www.issct.org/pdf/proceedings/2010/2010%20Kim,%20BUTANOL%20PRODUCTION%20FROM%20SUGARCANE%20JUICES.pdf